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Indicators of selenium status in Australian infants
L A Daniels1, R A Gibson, K N Simmer
1Department Public Health, School of Medicine, Flinders Universit, South Australia, Australia. lynne.daniels@flinders.edu.au
Insights
Australian infants and adults show lower selenium (Se) status indicators compared to international levels. Further research is needed to understand the Se status of the Australian population.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Biochemistry
- Trace Element Metabolism
- Public Health Nutrition
Background:
- Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element with crucial roles in antioxidant defense and immune function.
- Understanding Se status is vital for public health, particularly in vulnerable populations like newborns.
- Limited Australian data exists on Se status indicators in infants and adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish the first Australian reference data for key selenium (Se) status indicators in term and preterm infants.
- To report plasma Se levels in South Australian and Tasmanian adults.
- To compare Se status indicators between sexes and gestational ages in newborns.
Main Methods:
- A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted.
- Indicators measured included plasma Se, erythrocyte Se, and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity.
- Participants included newborn term and preterm infants and adult blood donors.
Main Results:
- Plasma Se concentrations in newborns were similar between term and preterm infants.
- Preterm infants exhibited lower erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity compared to term infants.
- Male infants had lower erythrocyte Se concentrations than female infants.
- Adelaide adults had higher plasma Se levels than Tasmanian adults.
Conclusions:
- Australian infant and adult Se status indicators are at the lower end of the international range.
- There is a significant lack of Australian data on dietary Se content and population Se status.
- Further research is essential to clarify the Se status of Australians given Se's role in disease prevention.
Objective:
To provide the first Australian data for the commonly used indicators of selenium (Se) status including plasma and erythrocyte Se and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity in newborn term and preterm infants from Adelaide, South Australia. Plasma Se levels from adults from Adelaide and Tasmania are also reported.
Methodology:
Descriptive, cross-sectional study of the indicators of Se status of newborn Australian preterm and term infants.
Results:
Mean (+/- SD) plasma Se concentrations in the first 5 days of life for term (n = 48) and preterm (n = 90) infants were similar at 33 +/- 11 and 29 +/- 14 microg/L, respectively. Glutathione peroxidase activity was lower in preterm than term infants (P < 0.001). Erythrocyte Se was lower in male (n = 74) compared with female (n = 57) infants (491 +/- 98 vs 561 +/- 134 ng/g Hb; P < 0.001). Adelaide adult plasma Se levels were 88 +/- 20 microg/L and higher than those of adult Tasmanian blood donors (77 +/- 13 microg/l, P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
These data indicate that values for indicators of Se status of Australian infants and adults are at the lower end of the international range. This article highlights the paucity of Australian data on the Se content in the food supply and the Se status of the Australian population. Given the increasing range and complexity of the biological roles of Se and the emerging evidence that Se may have important roles in prevention of cancer and other disorders, further data are required to clarify the Se status of Australians.